


Grease Is The Word

by TheWavesOfTheSea



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys Kissing, Costumes, Dancing, Explicit Language, First Kiss, Fluff, Inspired by Grease, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Multi, Musicals, Nervousness, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Rehearsals, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22836463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWavesOfTheSea/pseuds/TheWavesOfTheSea
Summary: A High School Au where the school puts on a musical: Grease
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Signing Up

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a fun idea I was more or less challenged with. I hope you like it and depending on the feedback I get, I'll be continuing this fic.
> 
> Enjoy!

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”. Bucky stood in front of the colourful piece of paper, eyebrows raised. This was not something that he wanted to audition for, never mind take part in. He had plenty of friends from other schools who had done things like this, but Bucky just never knew why. What was the fun in all of this anyway? A fucking musical. A. Fucking. High. School. Musical. The damn school was putting on a musical. Well that was just great.

Beside him, Steve looked as though he’d die laughing. Bucky just hoped he didn’t have an asthma attack. “Buck, calm down. It’s just a stupid musical. Besides, I think it would be fun. For you anyway”. Steve was still in his fit of laughter, the words coming out between giggles and gasps of air. He must’ve thought that Bucky was being overly dramatic. Screw him.

“What do ya mean, ‘for me’?”, Bucky narrowed his eyes at his best friend. Stevie was up to something and he knew it.

It took Steve a few moments to reply after recovering from his laughing fit. He just looked up at his friend as though he was the most innocent person in the word and said, “Well you didn’t seriously think that I’d get up on a stage singing and dancing with asthma as bad as mine, did you?”. Of course this had been a set up. Steve was gonna sign him up for this stupid musical and leave him all alone. Sly little prick.

“It’ll be fun, Buck. I promise. I’ll be there to cheer you on. Plus, they want to design and paint the props and backdrops for it anyway. You won’t be on your own”. Steve was holding Bucky’s arm now, shaking him. It was getting more and more annoying. The taller boy held out for what must’ve been another 30 seconds before he finally snapped.

“Look, Stevie. I have a very busy schedule of not going to class, football practice and looking after my sister. I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to”, Bucky tried to reason with his friend. He knew Steve knew that his sister was old enough to take care of herself for a few hours but it was worth a try. Steve just shook his head. “You know as well as I do that you’re bullshitting me right now, so if you don’t sign up for the musical, then I’ll do it for you”. Steve stepped closer to the sign up sheet on the board, digging a pen out of his backpack as he did so. He uncapped the pen and scribbled Bucky’s name down. He had to admit that ‘Grease’ was a little cliché but people love it.

“There!”, Steve stated triumphantly, pulling his friend away to their next class. “You’re going to audition for the musical with that smooth, smooth voice of yours and I’ll watch from the side-lines while I paint the inside of a totally real diner”. Bucky just rolled his eyes and allowed himself to be dragged along to their class.

Unbeknownst to his friend, Bucky made sure to add his friend’s name to the list as well. Right underneath his.

***

“Where the hell are we going?”, Peter shouted as Shuri led him and MJ through the halls. Peter just rolled his eyes when the only response he got was, “You’ll see”. She had took them all the way downstairs for this and it had felt like they had ran an entire lap of the school. Why the hell was she so excited?

They stopped in front of a piece of paper on a corkboard. Peter knew what it was without even having to look. This year’s musical had rolled around and he was guessing Shuri wanted them both to sign up for it. Peter actually thought it might be fun. He loved Grease just as much as the next person and he didn’t think his acting skills were all that bad. If only MJ had thought the same.

“No…just no”. MJ was looking at the sign up sheet as though it was going to kill her. She was still looking down at her phone, not even bothering to meet her friends’ eyes. Just as she was about to turn and leave, Peter caught her arm, “Oh come on, MJ! Just this once. And you only have to audition, remember? You mightn’t even get a part. Please just do this for me”. MJ let out a long, exaggerated sigh. She couldn’t say no to her boyfriend. Goddammit. “Fine”. Peter didn’t need to be told twice. He raced up to the sheet and wrote their names down.

He frowned when he noticed that Shuri’s name wasn’t on the list. He looked over his shoulder at her expectantly. “Hey Shuri? Why isn’t your name here? You brought us down here so surely you want to do it too?”. Shuri just laughed, shaking her head. “I can’t. I was offered a place as a stagehand. Y’know…lights, music, props. That kind of thing”.

“Oh”. Peter almost sounded disappointed but quickly perked up again. “Anyway, let’s eat”.

***

“Clint, you FUCKER!”. Clint didn’t need to see who was yelling at him, he just ducked behind Thor. “Shit!”, he whispered to himself. He had taken the opportunity of Natasha’s absence yesterday to sign both of them up for the musical. And judging by how pissed off Nat sounded, she had probably found out. He peeked his head out from behind his friend to see Natasha beside the sign up sheet with a very amused looking Peggy Carter beside her.

As soon as she spotted the brunette, the fire in her eyes intensified. Clint watched helplessly as she stormed over to him, arms crossed. “Clint are you fucking serious? You signed us up for the musical? Are you out of your mind?”. Behind them, Thor and Peggy were finding it very difficult not to laugh. “But it’s not just a musical, Nat. It’s Grease!”, Clint reminded her. Natasha was fuming now. “Clint I’m going to fucking murder you. You unbelievable CUN-”.

Clint breathed a sigh of relief as he hurried off to class, thankful that the bell had rang.

***

“Oh! Hey! Jane, over here. Come look at this!”. Darcy waved over her best friend to where she was standing at the corkboard. Jane hurried over to Darcy, worried that if she wasn’t quick enough, she would get yelled at again. She rolled her eyes when she saw what it was that Darcy was so excited about. The musical for this year was on. Grease. Just wonderful. “Darcy don’t you think that’s a little out of our comfort zone?”. Jane really didn’t want her friend to actually go through with this. “Yes! Yes it is. But that’s exactly why we should do it, Jane. Besides, we’ve got nothing better to do”.

As much as she hated to admit it, Darcy was right. They did have nothing better to do. And, if she had to be honest, she kinda wanted to do it. She wouldn’t mind actually being a part of something for a change. “Ok I’ll do it”. That’s all Darcy needed to hear before bounding over to the sheet and writing their names down. Today was the last that the students could sign up so she was kinda happy that they didn’t miss the deadline.

Jane went over to look at the final list of names on the sign up sheet. There was a lot but there was only a few she properly recognized. A smile formed on her lips as she read down the list of names.

_Bucky Barnes_

_Steve Rogers_

_Peter Parker_

_Michelle Jones_

_Peggy Carter_

_Natasha Romanov_

_Clint Barton_

_Pietro Maximoff_

_Wanda Maximoff_

_Thor Odinson_

_Jane Foster_

_Darcy Lewis_


	2. Auditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day has rolled around for the students to audition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is longer but I think it turned out well. Tell me what you think. 
> 
> I also changed the rating just to be safe because I don't know what I'm doing with this story yet.

After looking over the sheet once more to make sure he had the right date and time, Bucky made his way to the room where the auditions were being held (he didn’t bother remembering what it was called). Ever since his best friend had put him up to this (made him), he felt different. But it was a good different. If you asked him, he would deny it, but Bucky was actually excited for this. More so than he’d been for anything in a long time. Being a part of something like this gave him something to do that wasn’t skipping class all day or going to football practice. If he got a part in this musical, no matter how small, his teachers might think that he was worth something for once.

When he had gone home that day and told his sister about the musical, she was nearly more excited than he was. She had always told him that he had a nice singing voice and she seemed more than happy that he was actually using it for something other than singing at the top of his lungs at all hours of the morning just to annoy her. She was happy for him. Really happy. She hadn’t seen her brother this excited about something since he told her that he had made it onto the football team. Rebecca just wanted her brother to be happy.

Bucky had asked Steve to tag along with him. He said it was for ‘moral support’ since his friend still didn’t know. He knew that Steve had a good voice, had heard it enough times when he was ‘sleeping’ so he hoped that Steve wasn’t going to get angry at him when they called his name and it finally dawned on him what Bucky had done. He just had to hope that he would be ok with being put on the spot like that. It was worth a shot anyway. Steve could use something to get out of the house. Even if it was a stupid school musical.

***

Bucky got to the ‘audition room’ or whatever the hell you call it, early. As far as he knew, he was first on the list and he really didn’t want to mess this up for himself like he did everything else. He was waiting to be called out by the ‘directors’. They weren’t really directors but apparently Tony Stark and Bruce Banner would be good at this kind of thing. Shuri was also sitting beside them. Probably just for another opinion. Bucky’s heart was pounding in his chest. He just wanted to be called and wanted this to be over. But, of course it was never that easy, was it?

Bucky was waiting and waiting until… “Bucky Barnes?”. He took a deep breath, looking back at Steve one more time before walking out in front of the directors. He knew that they weren’t supposed to sing a full song. They didn’t have enough time for that. So Bucky had just decided to sing until after the first chorus. That had to be enough, surely.

“Hi. I’m Bucky Barnes and I’ll be singing ‘I want to break free’ by Queen”. It was the song that Rebecca suggested he should sing. He sung it around the house all the time and according to his sister, he sounded good.

_I want to break free_

_I want to break free_

_I want to break free from your lies_

_You’re so self-satisfied I don’t need you_

_I’ve got to break free_

_God knows, God knows I want to break free_

_I’ve fallen in love_

_I’ve fallen in love for the first time_

_And this time I know it’s for real_

_I’ve fallen in love, yeah_

_God knows, God knows I’ve fallen in love_

_It’s strange but it’s true, yeah_

_I can’t get over the way you love me like you do_

_But I have to be sure_

_When I walk out that door_

_Oh, how I want to be free, baby_

_Oh, how I want to be free_

_Oh, how I want to break free_

The music stopped and Bucky’s eyes focused back on the three people in front of him. He couldn’t tell by their faces if he’d done a good or a bad job so he’d just have to wait and see. He waited patiently for them to say something, anything.

“Thank you, Bucky. You may leave now”. Bucky couldn’t help but think that that was kinda rude but went back to Steve, nonetheless. Steve smiled up at him like he was the happiest boy in the world. “Buck, that was amazing! You’ll get a part. I know you will”. Bucky just smiled back at Steve, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

“Steve Rogers?”.

***

“Steve Rogers?”.

Steve’s smile dropped. Had he heard that right? That was his fucking name that was just called. He didn’t put his name down so why? His gaze wandered over to his extremely guilty looking best friend. “Bucky! What the fuck did you do?”, Steve half whispered, half yelled at the brunette. Bucky just gave him a lop-sided grin, turned him around and pushed him towards the stage. Steve heard a faint ‘you’ll be fine’ as he stopped in front of the directors. Right now, Steve felt like he was stepping in front of a jury.

He smiled anxiously at them. He looked over at Bucky, the same grin still on his face. He took a deep breath. Well, if he had a chance to do this, he was gonna give it his best shot.

“Hello. My name is Steve Rogers and I’ll be singing ‘Somewhere only we know’ by Keane”. He was going to have to cut the song in places to have enough time. Shit. This was not going to go well, was it? He was going panic and have an asthma attack on the stage. He just hoped if he did have one, it would kill him so he wouldn’t need to face the embarrassment of it afterwards. _Here go’s nothing._

_I walked across an empty land_

_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand_

_I felt the earth beneath my feet_

_Sat by the river, and it made me complete_

_Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?_

_I’m getting old, and I need something to rely on_

_So tell me when you’re gonna let me in_

_I’m getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin_

_And if you have a minute, why don’t we go?_

_Talk about it somewhere only we know?_

_This could be the end of everything_

_So why don’t we go_

_Somewhere only we know?_

Once Steve had snapped back to reality, he waited for Tony to give him a small nod before walking as fast as he could back to where Bucky was standing. He was going to kill that bastard. Bucky was smiling again. “Good job, Stevie”. Steve started to open his mouth to say something but Bucky shushed him. “Look, I know what you’re gonna say but just listen to me for a sec, ok? I know I’m a bit of a dick for not telling you, but I did it because I knew that you would have just backed out otherwise. You’re a really good singer and I want you to do something to get out of that house. Even if it’s just a dumb musical”. Steve blinked at his friend, suddenly hesitant to say anything. He needed to say thank you but he wouldn’t be able to without the tears in the corner of his eyes spilling down his cheeks. So he did the only thing he could think to do, he kissed him.

The kiss was Steve’s first but it sure as hell wasn’t Bucky’s. Bucky’s lips were softer than Steve would’ve ever thought and he found that he liked kissing him. It took a few moments for him to realise what he was doing. Steve’s eyes shot open as he pulled away. Steve’s mind was racing of endless possibilities of what Bucky would do know and none of them were good. The only thing that he didn’t count on happening, was Bucky grabbing his cheeks and pulling him back into the kiss.

When they broke apart for air, they were both panting. Bucky was smirking when he met Steve’s gaze. “Took you long enough, Rogers”. Steve looked at him for a minute before breaking into a fit of laughter. When he finally calmed down, he looked up at his friend again feeling a sudden surge of confidence by what had just happened. “Hey Buck? Do you want to go on a date?”.

“Sure, Stevie”.

***

MJ really couldn’t care less about the musical. She had only said yes to shut Shuri and her boyfriend up. She knew that she could sing, but she never thought in a million years that she would be using her singing to get a part in her school’s production of Grease. It was all bullshit if you asked her. it’s not like she disliked musicals, because she didn’t. It was just that there were better musicals out there that they could be doing. Much better. Like ‘Heathers’ or ‘The Greatest Showman’ or hell, even ‘Hairspray’.

And it’s not that they were better exactly. But they weren’t quite as cliché as Grease. But she said that she would do it. So she is. And on the off chance that she gets a part and actually enjoys herself, she’ll thank Shuri for showing her that the musical was even on, and Peter for not shutting up until she agreed to this. But that’s only if she has fun.

So now she’s waiting with Peter for their names to be called. There is still a good few people left to audition by the looks of it, so hopefully she won’t be standing here too long. The singing auditions were the last of the day as far as she knew. The people who were either dancing (Natasha) or acting (Darcy and Thor) had auditioned earlier in the day.

“Michelle Jones?”. She turned to her boyfriend and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before heading on stage. “Good luck, MJ”.

“Hey. I’m MJ and I’ll be singing ‘Rewrite the stars’ from the musical The Greatest Showman”. She gave a nod to Shuri and the music started playing.

_You think it’s easy_

_You think I don’t wanna run to you_

_But there are mountains_

_And there are doors that we can’t walk through_

_I know you’re wondering why_

_Because we’re able to be_

_Just you and me_

_Within these walls_

_But when we go outside_

_You’re going to wake up and see that it was hopeless after all_

_No one can rewrite the stars_

_How can you say you’ll be mine?_

_Everything keeps us apart_

_And I’m not the one you were meant to find_

_It’s not up to you_

_It’s not up to me_

_When everyone tells us what we can be_

_How can we rewrite the stars?_

_Say that the world can be ours_

_Tonight_

MJ walked off the stage to where her boyfriend was grinning like an idiot. “MJ that was incredible. I recorded the entire thing so I can show Ned when I’m at his place later. He’s gonna loose his shit”. MJ just laughed, kissing the boy. He could definitely be an idiot at times, but she loved that about him.

***

Peter had been ecstatic when he had come home from school after signing up. His aunt almost looked worried when he had burst through the door. “Aunt May, I have something really cool to tell you. Our school is putting on a musical and MJ and I are going to audition for it. How awesome is that?”. May looked at Peter’s smiling face once more and that’s all it took for her to start smiling. “That’s great, Pete. I’m sure you’re audition will be wonderful and you’ll get a part”. Peter threw his backpack in the corner of the hallway and went to hug his aunt. “Thanks, Aunt May. Anyways I just wanted to give you the news, I’m gonna head over to Ned’s now. See you later”.

When he had told his friend about the auditions, he fell off his bed laughing. Peter had helped him get off the floor while giving him a ‘what’s so funny’ kind of look. It took a while before Ned finally knew what Peter wanted. “What do you mean ‘what’s so funny?’. Dude! You’re auditioning for a musical. A school musical at that. I can just about understand you doing it. But MJ? No way. You guys must’ve put her up to that or something, right?”. By the time Ned was done talking, he was laughing again. Peter understood what he meant though. He didn’t actually think that his girlfriend would do it. Even with his annoying rant. But he was glad she did because there was no way that Ned would go with him to the auditions, that’s for sure.

MJ had just left the stage after her audition. She had sounded amazing. He was surprised that he had never heard her sing before. They had been together for months now and had been friends even longer. Why had she never let him hear her sing? Maybe it was just a self-conscious thing, he didn’t really know.

“Peter Parker?”. Peter jumped at the sound of his name. He squeezed MJ’s hand one last time before going onstage.

“Hi. I’m Peter Parker and I’ll be singing ‘Hold on’ by Chord Overstreet”.

_Loving and fighting_

_Accusing, denying_

_I can’t imagine a world with you gone_

_The joy and the chaos, the demons we’re made of_

_I’d be so lost if you left me alone_

_You locked yourself in the bathroom_

_Lying on the floor when I break through_

_I pull you in to feel your heartbeat_

_Can you here screaming “Please don’t leave me”_

_Hold on, I still want you_

_Come back, I still need you_

_Let me take your hand, I’ll make it right_

_I swear to love all my life_

_Hold on, I still need you_

Peter walked off stage after he was given the go ahead. MJ was waiting for him at the exit of the school. “Not gonna lie, you were pretty good. Now come on, you need to show Ned that recording. And I need to show him mine”. “MJ!”.

***

Clint felt as though he should be nervous. But he wasn’t. it was only a high school musical after all. There was nothing to be nervous about. He didn’t have any moral support with him, which sucked. But he was still going to do it anyway. Support or no support. He knew Natasha would’ve went with him but she was busy doing stuff at home.

He had gone with her to her audition though. He had watched her dance. Natasha had been mesmerising on that stage, and he had been standing off to the side. He had no doubt in his mind that Nat would get the part she wanted. She was too good not to. Way too good.

He would’ve asked one of his other friends to join him but their auditions had all been before his and they’d all went home to tell their families how things had turned out. It would’ve been nice to have someone here beside him so he wasn’t as bored as he is now. But he wouldn’t deprive them of seeing their families reactions to the news any longer.

As the minutes ticked by, Clint began feeling more and more anxious. He knew that it was a long shot, auditioning. But he really wanted to do this. Clint couldn’t help but feel as though something was missing. He didn’t have Natasha’s grace or Barnes’ charm. Charm probably wasn’t the word for it. Persuasive might be. Since he’s nearly sure that he has had his dick sucked by nearly every girl and guy at the school. He didn’t have any of that. And he was worried.

“Clint Barton?”. Clint stepped onto the stage. He recognised the three people in front of him. Though, who wouldn’t.

“Hey. My name’s Clint Barton and I’ll be singing ‘Beauty School Dropout’ from Grease”.

_Your story sad to tell,_

_A teenage ne’er do well,_

_Most mixed up non-delinquent on the block_

_Your future’s so unclear now,_

_What’s left of your career now?_

_Can’t even get a trade in on your smile._

_Beauty school dropout,_

_No graduation day for you._

_Beauty school dropout,_

_Missed your mid-terms and flunked shampoo,_

_Well at least you could have taken time,_

_To wash and clean your clothes up._

_After spending all that dough,_

_To have the doctor fix your nose up._

_Baby get movin,_

_Why keep your feeble hopes alive?_

_What are you provin?_

_You’ve got the dream but not the drive._

_If you go for your diploma you could join the steno pool._

_Turn in your teasin comb and go back to high school!_

Clint walked backstage after his audition. He was even more nervous than before know. What if he had messed up? What if he didn’t get a part? Just as he rounded the corner, he heard a soft clapping. Natasha was sitting on a black costume trunk, legs crossed and smiling. “You didn’t seriously think I’d miss this, did you Barton?”. Clint was so happy he could have cried. Nat had come back to watch him audition. Even when she didn’t have to. But that’s why Clint loved her so much. She was full of surprises, though he’d never tell her that.

***

Peggy hurried backstage, knocking things over in doing so. She hoped she wasn’t late. She had forgotten all about the auditions until she overheard Steve and Bucky talking about theirs. Thank God she had decided to stay for a bit after school. Had she gone home; she surely would have missed them then.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed one of the other students was already on stage. Good. She didn’t miss it. She would’ve brought her friend Angie, but she had to start her shift. A shame really. Peggy knew that her audition was going to be perfect. She just knew it.

The student who had previously been auditioning, left the stage, pushing past Peggy on their way to the exit. They looked pissed off, though she couldn’t imagine why.

“Peggy Carter?”. Peggy looked up from where her book was resting in her lap. She stuffed it back into her backpack on her way to the stage.

“Hello. My name is Peggy Carter. I’ll be singing ‘Hopelessly devoted to you’ from Grease”.

_Guess mine is not the first heart broken_

_My eyes are not the first to cry_

_I’m not the first to know there’s_

_Just no getting over you_

_You know I’m just a fool who’s willing_

_To sit around and wait for you_

_But baby can’t you see there’s nothing else for me to do_

_I’m hopelessly devoted to you_

_But now there’s no way to hide_

_Since you pushed my love aside_

_I’m outta my head hopelessly devoted to you_

_Hopelessly devoted to you_

_Hopelessly devoted to you_

Peggy said her thanks before walking offstage. She felt good about her audition. Hopefully she got the part she wanted. She picked up her backpack and made her way to the school’s main entrance. Now all that was left to do was to visit Angie at work and tell her.

***

Jane was terrified. She had never done anything like this in her life. The only person she’d ever sang in front of was Darcy. And sure, Darcy was here now but she wasn’t the only person there. And she was being judged. She had been assured several times by her friend that everything was going to be fine but she couldn’t see it that way. All the scenarios going through her head right now were all bad. The most likely one of those was that she’d forget the lyrics or something.

“Stop thinking”. She heard Darcy’s voice from behind her. “I know what your thinking, now stop thinking it. It’s honestly not even that bad. Those people out there? They aren’t even adults. Bruce and Shuri are only there cause they’re smart and Stark is only there because he bribed someone with money. Or at least I think he did. He seems like that kind of person. Don’t you think he seems like the kind of per-”.

“Jane Foster?”. Jane looked over at Darcy who gave her a thumbs up. Jane gave her friend a hug before walking out on stage. _Breath, Jane. Breath._

“Hi. I’m Jane Foster. I’ll be singing ‘Terrible Things’ by Mayday Parade”.

_By the time I was your age, I’d give anything_

_To fall in love truly, was all I could think_

_That’s when I met your mother, the girl of my dreams_

_The most beautiful women that I’d ever seen_

_She said, Boy can I tell you a wonderful thing?_

_I can’t help but notice, you’re staring at me_

_I know I shouldn’t say this, but I really believe_

_I can tell by your eyes that you’re in love with me_

_Now son, I’m only telling you this_

_Because life, can do terrible things_

Jane all but ran to Darcy after her audition was over. She couldn’t believe she’d actually done it. “Good job, Jane”. Jane gave her friend another hug as a thank you. They left the school together to go celebrate their mini victory at Jane’s house.

***

Wanda bounced her leg up and down anxiously. She didn’t like performing in front of an audience. Especially if it was with her idiot of a brother. Chances are he’d fuck something up and then they’d both be screwed. She turned her head over to where her brother was sitting, swaying with the music from his headphones.

Wanda had no idea how Pietro could be so calm. Surely even he was a little nervous? Looking back, Wanda realised that Pietro was hardly ever nervous about anything. Not even when they were kids. Wanda was sure that everything that Pietro did was because of a voice in his head that just said ‘fuck it’ every time he thought of a dumb idea. That voice had certainly gotten them both into some ridiculous situations.

“Wanda and Pietro Maximoff?”. Wanda stood up from the speaker she had made her chair. She had to punch Pietro in the arm before he even noticed that something was happening. Wanda helped her brother up so that he wouldn’t be left behind when she walked on stage.

“Hi. I’m Wanda and this is Pietro. We will be singing ‘Shallow’ from A Star is Born”.

_Tell me somethin’ girl_

_Are you happy in this modern world?_

_Or do you need more?_

_Is there somethin’ else you’re searchin’ for?_

_I’m falling_

_In all the good times I find myself_

_Longing for change_

_And in the bad times I fear myself_

_Tell me something boy_

_Aren’t you tired tryin’ to fill that void?_

_Or do you need more?_

_Ain’t it hard keeping it so hardcore?_

_I’m falling_

_In all the good times I find myself_

_Longing for change_

_And in the bad times I fear myself_

_I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in_

_I’ll never meet the ground_

_Crash through the surface, where they can’t hurt us_

_We’re far from the shallow now_

Wanda and Pietro ran backstage. Pietro wrapped his arms around his sister in a hug. “I told you there was nothing to worry about, didn’t I?”. Wanda nodded. “At least you didn’t fuck it up for us”. Pietro put his hand to heart in mock hurt. “Now why would you ever think I’d do that?” “Because you’re you” “True”.

***

Bruce looked through the list of names in front of him. “Well, that’s all of them”. Tony looked relieved. “Thank fuck. I thought we’d be here all night”. Shuri cleared her throat. “Eh, guys? We still have a decision to make”. Both boys nodded. She was right, after all. They did have a decision to make. Bruce looked at the others, sighing. “We better get started then”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Let me know if you liked it :)


	3. Your Part to Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cast list is announced and the students find out what parts they got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this took so long to post compared to the last chapter. But it's finally here and i hope you guys are happy with how it turned out.

It had been an agonizing week for the students who had auditioned. They had all been anxiously awaiting for that one sheet of paper that determined whether or not they had stood up on that stage for nothing. When it was announced that Tony and Bruce would be putting up the cast list at the end of school, Bucky could hardly contain his excitement. It was still strange for him to be this happy or excited over something, but it wasn’t exactly an unwelcome feeling either. Bucky had been secretly hoping for a specific part and if he didn’t get it, he felt as though he might cry. He had finally found something that he thought he was good at. He just really didn’t want to let himself, Steve or his sister down.

Speaking of Steve, their date had gone better than expected. Bucky didn’t really do the whole ‘dating’ thing. It had all been casual sex up until then. He didn’t really care about the chicks or the guys that he fucked. It was all just pointless fun. But Bucky would rather throw himself in front of a bus rather than let things get that way with Steve. They had been friends for so, so long and hopefully, if he played his cards right, he’d be dating Stevie for just as long, if not longer. Bucky didn’t think he’d felt about anyone the way he felt about his best friend turned boyfriend. He didn’t know what he would do without him. Which is why they’d decided to go on a second date.

Bucky practically ran to the notice board after his last class(yes, he actually went to class this time). The cast wasn’t up yet but it would be in a few minutes. He watched as the rest of the students who had auditioned crowded around. They were all probably just as excited as he was. He searched for Steve in the crowd, finally finding him and taking his hand. Whatever happened, whatever news they both got, they’d find out together.

The students all turned their heads towards Tony and Bruce. They were smiling at them, eager to share their decision. Tony scanned the paper one last time before pinning it up on the corkboard. He quickly stepped aside before the crowd of students ran over to the cast list, pulling Bruce with him.

Bucky was probably the closest to the notice. He didn’t have to read the list at all. His name was the first one.

_Danny Zuko – Bucky Barnes_

He couldn’t hold back the smile on his face or the giddy excitement coursing through him. He got the fucking lead. How amazing was that? Bucky Barnes, the boy who the teachers never had a good word about, got the lead fucking role in the school musical. Rebecca was gonna loose her shit when he told her. He looked over at Steve to see him smiling at him.

“Holy shit, Buck. You got the lead! I’m sure your sister will be ecstatic”, Steve was smiling wider. He should probably get home. He needed to tell Rebecca what had happened. She would be so proud of him. Bucky said his goodbyes to Steve and headed for the doors, congratulating his boyfriend on his part as he did so.

Bucky got home in record time. After all, he did sprint there. He took the key out of his pocket, unlocking his front door. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, announcing his return to his sister. Just as he had predicted, Rebecca came bounding out of her room, a wide smile on her face.

“Please tell me you got a part”. Rebecca had been waiting for the news just as long as he had. It was only fair that he didn’t waste any more time. “I got the lead, Rebecca”. It took a moment for his words to register but once they did, he ran over and hugged him. “Bucky that’s amazing! I’m so proud of you”, she squealed. Bucky was glad that she was happy. And he was too. He finally had something to look forward to. Other than his dates with Steve and coming home to his sister.

***

Steve clutched Bucky’s hand tighter as he read down the list of names. He was nervous. Very nervous. He didn’t really even want a big part. He had to help out with the artsy stuff as well so it wouldn’t suit him to have a big part. Just _a_ part. Steve scanned his eyes down the list until he found his name. he ran his finger along his name to where his part was typed out.

_Putzie – Steve Rogers_

Steve smiled at the paper in front of him. He’d gotten a part. As one of the T-Birds. That was better than anything he could’ve asked for. He had gotten a part. One he was happy with. The thought of him wearing a leather jacket with gelled hair and a bad boy attitude was weird to Steve. The only time he’d worn a leather jacket was when Bucky had draped his over his shoulder’s when they were walking back from their date. And that certainly didn’t have the T-Birds logo on the back of it. Though it would’ve been funny if it did.

He turned to Bucky and smiled when he met his eyes. Bucky motioned his head towards the paper, grinning. So Steve did, and what he saw made him smile. Bucky got Danny. That was great. “Holy shit, Buck. You got the lead! I’m sure your sister will be ecstatic”. He was so proud of Bucky. He needed something to distract himself anyway. And Steve would gladly watch his boyfriend dancing on a stage for hours.

Bucky had left to go tell his sister about the news. Steve knew that she would be happy and that she probably wouldn’t shut up about it for months. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, sending a quick text to Bucky before putting it away again. Maybe he could go over to Peggy’s house to celebrate.

***

“For fuck sakes, Peter. This is not as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be. It’s just a dumb musical”, MJ yelled at her boyfriend as she was dragged down the hall by her wrist. The second the bell had rung, Peter had grabbed his backpack with one hand, MJ with the other and ran out of the classroom to the notice board. A few other students were already there, including Shuri, who was smiling broadly at them.

“Are you two excited?”. Looking over at her boyfriend, she thought excited was an understatement. He was practically vibrating with built up energy. MJ wasn’t quite as excited though. She honestly didn’t think she’d get the part that she wanted. Her part was probably going to be small and she’d just be cast aside to the background for the rehearsals. Just thinking about it made her anxious. MJ wasn’t excited as such. No. She was nervous as hell, and it would stay that way until the cast list was put up.

“Couldn’t you just tell us what our parts are? You know already, so why are you making us wait?”, MJ said matter-of-factly. It was the truth after all. She could just spare her and Peter the few minutes of agonizing waiting and tell them what she’s probably known for days. It made more sense for Shuri to tell them now. They could go home and there would be less of a crowd, less of a chance of people getting hurt by students shoving their way towards the front.

“Oh come on Shuri. Can you please just-”. Peter’s words were cut off by the turning of heads towards the musical’s ‘producers’. At the sight of them, peter began bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet and MJ felt sicker by the second. Tony had the cast list in his hand, Bruce beside him. Tony took a few quick strides over to the corkboard, pinning it up. The students crowded around it. Once MJ was close enough to the sheet to read it, she found her name.

_Rizzo – Michelle Jones_

Yes! Yes! Yes! MJ covered her mouth with her hand. She had gotten the part she wanted. She didn’t need to stand in the background. She got her own song for fuck sakes. Her own song! How cool was that.

She looked over at the sheet again, looking for Peter’s name this time. She smiled once she found it. She had some sort of feeling that he was happy with the part that he got. She looked over at Peter and, judging by the look on his face, he definitely was.

***

Peter couldn’t have been any more excited as he ran through the school halls with his girlfriend’s hand in his. After what had seemed like days of sitting in a classroom trying to his teacher’s going on and on about something that he really couldn’t care less about, the bell rang. School was over for the day and that meant that Peter could sprint down the halls to the notice board and wait for either Tony or Bruce to put up the cast list.

Peter’s mind was going a mile a minute as he waited the torturously long few minutes that it took for the directors to get there. What if he didn’t get the part that he wanted? What if he didn’t get a part at all? What if MJ got a part? He would have to sit in the audience of all the rehearsals and shows and watch his girlfriend dance and possibly kiss another guy. He couldn’t have that. Would May be disappointed if he didn’t get a part? There were too many questions running through Peter’s head. Said questions were just making him more and more anxious and he wanted them to stop. He searched for MJ’s hand and grabbed it, taking a few deep breathes. There. Much better.

It took a while longer for Tony and Bruce to show up. But when they revealed the cast list, Peter couldn’t have been up there faster. He searched for his name on the left side of the page, following an invisible line over to where his part was listed.

_Kenickie – Peter Parker_

Holy shit! He got a part. But not just any part. _His_ part. Peter wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry. He wanted to just run home and tell May but he couldn’t leave without telling MJ. He turned to her and watched a smile tug at her lips. She must have gotten some good news.

After a quick conversation with MJ and a short text to Ned, Peter left the school and began the short walk home. He couldn’t wait to see his aunt’s reaction.

***

Peggy stood opposite the notice board, waiting rather impatiently. Usually, she was a patient person. But it had been nearly a whole week of waiting for the stupid directors to announce the cast list and it was starting to take its toll on her. Class had been horrifically boring, even for her. Peggy was usually the only one to listen in her classes but she couldn’t concentrate at all. she kept thinking about what would happen after her classes. The news she would get. She had just hoped it was good.

Surprisingly, Peggy only had to wait a few minutes for Tony and Bruce to show their faces. Those few minutes had been uncomfortable though. She had been pressed up against several people when the crowd started to gather and shoved more than once. The halls certainly weren’t the most ideal place to be meeting to see the cast list. Especially considering how narrow they are.

Peggy waited for the crowd to clear before stepping up to the list. The other students who had managed to catch a glimpse at the list had been looking at her strangely and she couldn’t understand why. That was, until she scanned the list down and found her name.

_Sandy Olsson – Peggy Carter_

She got Sandy. She got the lead girl. Peggy stared at the cast list in shock. She had gotten the part she wanted, even though it was unexpected. If anything, she had expected to be one of the pink ladies. Surely, Natasha should’ve been Sandy. Not her. Peggy certainly wasn’t complaining anyway. She smiled as she walked towards the front doors, digging her phone out of her bag as she went and dialling a certain number.

“Angie! I have something to tell you”.

***

“Why must you drag me here, brother. I’m not even waiting on anything”, Loki sighed as he allowed his brother to lead him to where a group of students had gathered. Presumably waiting for the same thing that Thor was. Loki really didn’t like crowds. At least, not if they weren’t addressing him.

“Be quiet, brother. This is exciting for me. Do not ruin it”, Thor hushed his brother. He wasn’t lying, he really was looking forward to this. It would be the first time that he had taken part in any kind of Midgardian entertainment and he wanted to see what it was like.

Five minutes later and he finally got his turn to look at the list. He scanned the list, searching for his name and getting giddier and giddier in the process.

_Doody – Thor Odinson_

“Doody?”, Thor asked to no one in particular. “Loki? Who is Doody”. Loki was trying not to laugh at his brother’s obliviousness. This always happened. Loki ended up doing more research than Thor on a particular subject and his brother was left asking too many questions. He was willing to admit that the only reason that he did any research whatsoever on the actual musical and movie was because he had gotten roped into helping with the costume design. Acting and dancing around a stage really wasn’t Loki’s idea of fun. He would just make a fucking fool of himself if he tried. So he opted for costume design since it appeared that everyone had to help out in one way or another.

“Doody is one of the T-Birds, Thor and you would know that if you had actually bothered to do some research of your own instead of relying on me to do everything for you”, Loki answered his brother’s question with another sigh. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

“Now that you know who you’re playing in this God awful musical, can we please go home?”.

“Yes we can. Come, brother. We have much to discuss about my costume”.

“Thor that is not how that works”.

***

Natasha and Clint had skipped most of their classes. They decided that they had better ways to pass the time than to stay in class and listen to some fucker talk. They had left the school to hang out in the park. At least it was better than class. They had spent most of their time there talking about meaningless stuff, letting the hours tick by.

Clint checked his phone. It was almost time for school to end. “We should probably go back now. Wouldn’t want to miss people crying about not getting the part they wanted”, Clint joked. Natasha nodded, getting up from where they had been sitting and offering a hand to Clint. He took it without hesitation and allowed Nat to pull him up. Natasha turned to leave but Clint stopped her.

“You forgot something”.

“Oh, yeah? Wha-”. Natasha’s words were cut of as Clint pressed his lips to hers. The longer the kiss lasted, the more she could feel laughter bubbling up inside her chest. They had been dating for almost a year now but had decided to keep their relationship a secret. They broke apart for air, Natasha laughing breathlessly.

“Really?”.

“Mmhm”.

They made it back to the school just in time for the crowd to clear. Clint took Nat’s hand in his as they walked up to the cast list.

_Cha Cha – Natasha Romanov_

_Teen Angel – Clint Barton_

Natasha looked at Clint and smiled. She had gotten the part she wanted and so had he. At least she didn’t have to sing. She could sing, she knew she could. But she was always better at dancing.

“I guess singing ‘Beauty School Dropout’ for your audition helped after all”.

“Yeah. I guess it did”.

Natasha gave her boyfriend one final peck on the cheek before leaving for home.

***

Wanda didn’t know what to expect today. It seemed like all the other students were excited for the announcement of the cast for the musical except for her and her brother. Sure, they wanted to see who got what part, but it just seemed like everyone else was making a bigger deal out of this than she was. Wanda wanted to see what part she got, however small that was, but she just wasn’t exactly excited for it. Was that so bad?

Pietro shared the same thoughts as his sister. He couldn’t understand why people were already beginning to lurk around the corkboard at the front of the school. He had been excited for the auditions, but even that seemed a little extreme. What was the rush? He knew people wanted to know as soon as possible so that they could tell their families, but that didn’t mean that they had to stand waiting in a sweaty group of teenagers. Why didn’t they just go to it when everyone had gone home? That’s what he and Wanda were doing. If he was going to know what part he got, then he was going to do it in his own time and at his own pace (which really wouldn’t have taken long at all).

“Pietro, we have to go now. People are starting to clear and I would like to be home as fast as possible. I’m starving and I want to make an early start on dinner”, Wanda called to her brother as she watched the crowd disperse from the cast list. “Pietro?”. She looked over to where he brother was standing, leaning against one of the concrete support pillars and chatting up some slutty cheerleader chick. Wanda grimaced. That was his type, really? God. He could do so much better.

Wanda sighed, storming over to her brother, fire in her eyes. She grabbed hold of her brother’s arm. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but unfortunately for you, Pietro is busy today. Sorry”, Wanda’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she dragged her brother over to the list by his arm. Pietro gave a shout of protest, which resulted in a very dramatic eye roll from his sister. “Just be quiet and look at the list”.

_Marty – Wanda Maximoff_

_Sonny – Pietro Maximoff_

“Not bad, eh sis?”, Pietro looked over at her. truth be told, he didn’t expect either of them to get a part. He would’ve thought that the cast list would be filled up with talentless people that had managed to bribe their way into the musical. Stark was just that kind of person.

Wanda looked back over at her brother and smiled. “No. Not bad at all”.

***

“This is going to take FOREVER! There’s so many people”, Darcy Lewis yelled. Her and Jane had been standing at the back of the group of students to see the list for what felt like years, but in reality was only a couple of minutes. Why couldn’t people just hurry up? It wasn’t that hard to find your name on a sheet of paper and then fuck off home.

“Stop complaining, Darcy. You’re being dramatic. Besides, it’s not even taking that long”. Jane was used to her friend being dramatic, but sometimes it got annoying, even for her. they would only have to wait another five minutes max, and then they’d be out of there. Just five more minutes. But, of course, that was still to long for Darcy to wait.

“What if I just made then get out of my way? What if I used this?”. Jane glared at her friend as she watched Darcy rummage around in her backpack and pull out what she suspected was a taser. Was she serious? Why was she friends with a complete lunatic?

“No! You can’t. put the taser away before someone sees. How the hell did you even get that in here?”. Darcy glared at Jane before putting the taser back into her bag with a defeated sigh and disappointed look on her face. “I never get to use this thing”.

The crowd actually cleared pretty fast, and Darcy was at the list like a light. Jane looked at it from over her friend’s shoulder, trying to find their names.

_Frenchy – Jane Foster_

_Jan – Darcy Lewis_

“Oh look, your acting skills got you the part of the crazier one of the Pink Ladies. Who knew?”, Jane laughed as Darcy punched her in the arm.

“I’m not crazy, I’m just energetic”.

“Sure, Darcy. Whatever you say”.

***

Tony walked alongside Bruce as they left the school. Putting up that cast list had been a much bigger deal than they’d thought. It turns out that the students were actually excited for this. Even Barnes had seemed happy.

“Do you think we made any mistakes with the casting?”. Tony heard Bruce’s voice from beside him. “I dunno, but I suspect that there will be more than a few complaints from people that didn’t get a part”, Tony laughed. “Yeah. I can imagine. Rehearsals don’t start till Monday. What do we do until then?”. Tony turned to his friend with a small smile. “We just have to hope that these guys are as good as we think they are”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think of this story. Hopefully you like it as much as I do.


	4. Rehearsals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Bruce, Shuri and the rest of the students take on their next big challenge in preforming a musical. The rehearsals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think this is the quickest update that I've made to this fic. It's another kinda short chapter but I think it works. I wrote this one a bit different so please let me know if you like this better or if I should go back to the way I was doing things.
> 
> And as always, enjoy.

Surprisingly, all the students who needed to turn up to the rehearsals, turned up. Tony thought that there would’ve been one or two of the students that Bruce and he had picked that just wouldn’t show up, wouldn’t have given a shit.

But no. They were all there: Steve, Bucky, Natasha, Clint, Peggy, Jane, Darcy, Thor, Peter, MJ, Pietro and Wanda. Even Shuri had tagged along. She didn’t _need_ to be there, but the promising mental image of the other students falling over themselves whilst trying to dance was to good to pass up. Especially when one of those students was more than likely Peter Parker. He was a good singer, sure. But Shuri would be lying if she said that he had even an ounce of rhythm in his body. Shuri glanced over in Peter’s direction, smiling broadly. She could tell he was trying. So maybe he’d prove her wrong. Or…maybe she could make a bet out of it.

Shuri waited for a break in the rehearsal before trying anything. She made her way over to MJ, tossing her a bottle of water that she’d taken from her own backpack. “Hey, MJ. How’s rehearsal going?”. MJ caught the water bottle with ease. She unscrewed the lid and took a generous gulp of the liquid. She turned to her friend and laughed. “It’s going great for me. But for others…”, she motioned her head towards where Clint and Bucky were on top of each other on the stage, having just tripped over one another and were laughing their asses off. “Not so good”, MJ finished. Shuri couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the sight of the two boys lying on the floor.

“What’s up?”. Shuri knew that MJ was always up for a bet, so the next part would be easy. “I was thinking…how about a bet?”, Shuri looked over her shoulder at Peter again. He seemed to be getting better at dancing but he was still tripping over himself every few steps. MJ looked cautious at this. “What kind of bet”. Shuri thought about what to say next. It was MJ’s boyfriend they were betting on after all. “I bet you 50 bucks that Peter will fall on his ass at least twice during every rehearsal from now until the show”. MJ laughed. She really did want to believe that Peter was good enough at dancing to not fall during at least one rehearsal, but she just couldn’t. She did have faith in Peter though. So she figured she had nothing to lose. “Sure. I have faith in him. He’ll go through at least one rehearsal without falling and I’ll make 50 bucks. Easy”.

Peter frowned. He was standing near enough to the girls to hear their conversation. He didn’t usually eavesdrop but he heard his name and had to listen in. He just had to. He couldn’t believe that his girlfriend and friend had made a bet on whether or not he would fall on his face during every rehearsal. Twice. At least MJ had some faith in him, right? He would prove it to both of them that he could dance. He wasn’t going to be some kind of laughingstock for the both of them. Sure the steps were hard, and he did have to memorise a _lot_ of lyrics. But he could do it. He knew he could.

***

Tony felt like he was in hell on earth right now. He looked around at the rest of the students and let out a deep sigh. People were falling over each other, there had been a bet made already and every few minutes Clint felt like it was appropriate to burst out into song. At least the songs are from Grease, otherwise, Tony might just explode. He hadn’t exactly expected their first rehearsal to go smoothly, believe him. But he hadn’t expected it to go this badly. Not at all.

He looked over at Bruce, who was going over the requirements and preparation needed for the show in regard to the technical side of things. What would Tony do without Bruce? He was able to handle Clint’s sing-songs and Jane’s whining that her feet hurt and Peter falling over himself constantly. He seemed to be much better at this than he was. Perhaps Bruce could teach him a thing or two. He really did need to brush up on his people skills. Well, people who weren’t the media anyway. He just hoped that by the end of the first month at least, that the ‘actors’ would be somewhat organised and in sync.

Bruce walked over to Tony, a huge smile on his face. “Tony! Shuri and I were discussing the arrangements for the music and sound effects for the show. And guess what, it didn’t take her long at all to memorise what she’s supposed to do. She’s amazing. At least that’s one part done for now”, Bruce bounced up and down excitedly. Tony had always thought that Bruce ranting about things he liked was adorable. But he’d never tell him that. “Yeah. Well, we still have a ways to go from here, Bruce. And from the looks of it, I can’t see us getting their any time soon”. Bruce frowned at that and Tony immediately felt the guilt threatening to overwhelm him. He really didn’t like making Bruce upset. He knew his friend was passionate about the musical and it killed him to see Bruce down about something he’s worked and is working so hard on.

There was twenty minutes left of rehearsal and Tony couldn’t think straight. His thoughts had consisted of nothing but ‘what if’s since his conversation with Bruce. He wanted this to work out as much as the next person but, it was difficult for him to see a way to get everyone to become organised enough to work together. Half of the others hated each other, for fuck sake. Bucky kept glancing over at Pietro, giving him a dirty look every chance he got. Pietro kind of had it coming though. He did ask Bucky if he could see a picture of his sister to see if she was girlfriend material for him. That comment had left Barnes fuming and he’d hated Pietro ever since. Wanda had tried (and failed) to settle whatever it is going on between the two of them but it just doesn’t seem to be working.

God only knows that the twins have a hard time working together as it is. There is always some teasing or taunting going on (mostly from Pietro) and it is impossible to break up a fight between them. Not even Natasha can do it, and she is one of the scariest people Tony knows. To make matters worse, they are rehearsing beside one another. Every few minutes there is always a yell of ‘Hey! Watch where you’re going, Pietro. You stepped on my toes’ or ‘I can’t dance if you’re so close to me that I can barely move’. Tony thinks it’s exhausting.

Then there’s Loki and Thor. They don’t get along at all. Thank fuck that Loki doesn’t actually come to the rehearsals because that would be another whole shit show all of it’s own. He would just have to remind Thor that if he sees a snake on the stage to not pick it up. It would probably transform into a human and stab him again. And nobody wants that. Tony just hopes that these particular students will be able to set their differences aside for long enough to finish the musical.

***

Everyone is silently thanking whatever God they believe in if any at all, that Natasha Romanov exists. She offered to do most of the choreography for the show and so far, it’s perfect. Nat seems to be leading everyone by herself. She’s keeping everyone alert and ready and everyone wants to thank her for that. For if it weren’t for Natasha, there probably wouldn’t be a show at all. The fact that Nat was one of the scariest people that most of them have every come across, she certainly was best suited for the role of choreographer.

Natasha sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today, as she watched Peter fall to the ground again. “Come on, Peter. It’s not that hard. It’s only a small sequencing of steps. Everyone else has got it, so why can’t you?”. The room fell silent as everyone watched Natasha voice her annoyance to Peter. They looked at each other silently, not wanting to say a word in case they got caught up in whatever the hell it was that was going on right now. They could only hold their breath and watch it all unfold.

“I know and I’m trying! Can’t you see that! This really isn’t my kind of dancing so I’d appreciate it if you weren’t so hard on me all the time. I’ll get it eventually. I promise”. Peter’s outburst brought Natasha to silence. He was near tears, she could tell. Had she really been that hard on him?

Peter sniffled quietly, standing up from where he’d fallen and heading for the school’s exit. Natasha wanted to call after him but thought better of it. Rehearsal was over now anyway. There was nothing she could do. She hadn’t meant to be so cruel but maybe being in charge for the first time in a while had made her forget that she still had to treat people nicely. She wasn’t Stark.

***

The next few rehearsals went smoothly enough. Everyone seemed to be getting along and things seemed to be changing for the better. The students seemed to be getting the hang of the whole dancing thing. Even Peter. They had nearly perfected the lines and choreography to ‘Summer Nights’, ‘Greased Lightening’ and ‘Born to Hand Jive’. Clint and Peggy had rehearsed their solos for the first time and Natasha had gotten to do her big dance number. Jane was no longer complaining that her feet hurt, Darcy had stopped threatening to taze people if they got in her ‘dance space’ and Thor had finally accepted that if he saw any snakes that he couldn’t pick them up.

Steve was backstage, putting the more prominent details onto some of the props and backdrops. He had opted out of rehearsing ‘Greased Lightening’ again. His asthma had started to get pretty bad so he thought it would be best if he did some relaxing painting rather than energetic dancing. He looked up at Bucky so often and each time Bucky noticed him looking, he was met with a wink and a smirk. Steve really couldn’t believe that his boyfriend could be that cheesy sometimes. But he always laughed anyway.

Now that the rehearsals had started to run smoothly and there was no longer an argument every two minutes or so, they could get a lot more progress done in what time they had. Natasha was still doing a fantastic job at choreographing and Shuri seemed to be having the time of her life messing around with all the lights. Tony was much more at ease now than he was during their first rehearsal. His mental checklist had already begun to get smaller.

Choreography – Check

Vocals – Check

Sound and Lights – Check

Backdrops and Props – Check

All of these things were either done or getting there. But there was one thing that still hadn’t been decided upon that Tony and Bruce wanted to get out of the way as much as the others did. The costumes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have plans for the next chapter so I will get started on that soon. Please let me know if you liked this chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.


	5. Costumes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students get their costumes for the musical. Even it the process didn't go as smoothly as they had planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is, I think, the shortest chapter of this fic. I didn't want it to be too long but I hope it's not too short.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.

With rehearsals nearing an end and the show’s opening night getting closer and closer, it was time to tick off one of the only things left on Tony Stark’s mental checklist of perfection. The costumes. Costumes were one of the things in a show that seemed to bring it all together. It gave the characters life. So they had to be perfect. He had had to find someone who knew what they were doing. He needed someone who was assertive. That they knew what they wanted and when they wanted it. He needed someone who wasn’t afraid to take matters into their own hands if something were to go wrong. And of course, he needed someone that actually had a good sense of style. So who did he choose? None other than Loki Laufeyson himself.

Loki had been perfect for the job. He was dominant and had a sense of style. He was used to Asgardian fashion and brought that with him when he came to Midgard. However, he had also taken some inspiration for his outfits from some of the trends he had seen and begun to like while he was attending school here. It was mostly leather, but the colours complimented each other so well that he would get a compliment at least twice a day, if not more. Looking at Loki, you never would’ve imagined that he could be a costume designer. And he wasn’t really. But he’d said he’d do it anyway. Tony was grateful for the help. They all were. But that was two months ago, before they had even discussed ideas.

***

“That is not what I asked for at all! I told you to use a lilac for the shirt, not baby blue! What the hell are you doing?”, Loki yelled at the top of his lungs. Some of the girls and boys from the home economics classes had offered to make the costumes that Loki had designed. The only problem was, he was a little over the top. The poor girl he had yelled at looked like she’d burst into tears at any moment. Tony watched the scene in front of him and let out a long, deep sigh. This is not how this was supposed to go at all. Fuck.

Bucky and Peggy looked at each other in silence as Loki continued to yell and complain at the top of his lungs to the costumes makers. Bucky couldn’t help but crack a small smile. He thought the whole ordeal was hilarious. Peggy, on the other hand, just looked mortified. Most of the costumes for the musical had been completed. But they were still doing the finishing touches to the more complex outfits.

“You think he’s going stop yelling anytime soon?”, Bucky whispered as Tony walked past him, a fuming Loki behind him. Peggy looked doubtful. “I wouldn’t think so. It’s his way or no way. Although I will admit, his way seems to be the better option of what I’ve seen of everyone else’s costumes. Natasha’s dress looks amazing”, Peggy replied. She was right. Loki was doing a good job at this, even if his temper got the better of him at times. Bucky just hoped that whatever went wrong, that they could fix it quick. The were supposed to start costume rehearsals in a week and some parts of costumes were missing and some of the students didn’t have their costumes at all yet. They had a lot of work to do.

***

“Do you still think getting Loki to design the costumes was a good idea?”, Bruce asked his best friend. After the ordeal that had happened earlier that day, Bruce really wasn’t sure if having Loki around was as good of an idea as they had originally thought. Tony looked up at Bruce, sighing. “I don’t know. I mean, he is doing a good job but he just can’t seem to handle small mistakes”. Bruce nodded in agreement. They both knew he was right. They would just have to make it to the end of the week, that’s all.

***

Thankfully, they had all survived the until the end of the week and had gotten their costumes in time. The students were all standing on stage, ready for their first costume rehearsal. The T-Birds had managed to stand to one end of the stage while the Pink Ladies stood at the other end. Everyone was admiring the costumes. Clint’s jaw had dropped when he saw Natasha walk out in her dress and Bucky thought it was pretty funny to see Steve in a leather jacket and gelled hair. He looked tough. Or at least as tough as you can be when you’re as skinny as Stevie and have too many medical issues to count. But he did look good. Thor and Bucky had pulled their hair back into buns and Steve wouldn’t stop staring at his boyfriend. It was the first time he’d ever seen Bucky with his hair up and he thought it looked incredibly sexy. He would’ve said something to Bucky if he hadn’t gotten all embarrassed when Bucky had caught him staring.

Natasha broke into a fit of laughter when she saw Clint in his all white outfit. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen Clint wear white in her life but it sure is funny. Darcy and Jane were admiring their Pink Ladies jackets a little too much and Peter was too busy putting way too much hair gel in his hair to notice anything else.

The costumes had looked way better than expected and Tony and Bruce were just happy that the costumes fit the actors and that they looked good. They knew it would take some time to get them to stop admiring themselves in the mirrors but once they did, the rehearsals could begin. The first show was only a few weeks away but they still had to practice. He wanted it to be perfect for when the time came for the first show. And since it was their last year in high school, he wanted everyone to have fond memories of the musical. They all wanted their last year together to be something special and with the help of Grease, maybe it might just be something special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. It might be a while before the last chapter comes out since I plan on making it a long one. I hope you guys are enjoying this fic so far.


	6. Grease is the Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The show is about to start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy :)

It had been a long, long process to get where they all were now, but they did it. The students had finally perfected their lines and dance numbers. Sure, it took some longer than others to get the hang of things, but eventually, they all got it. And now, it was finally time for their first show.

Bucky looked around from where he was standing backstage. Everyone was getting reading for the opening scene. He could not help but laugh as he watched some of the others fall over themselves trying to quickly put on their costumes or make-up. He felt giddy. The day that he had been so excited about for so many months was finally here and other than the day he met Steve; this would probably be the best in his life.

But he was so fucking nervous. He’d never really been nervous about anything before. It was freaking him out. He was the male lead. He couldn’t fuck this up for the rest of the students, or for himself. He just hoped that he didn’t forget his lines or miss his cues or mess up the choreography. If one of them fucked up and people noticed, it could end badly for all of them. Especially considering that they had fucking Mister Perfectionist, A.K.A Tony Stark as their director.

Bucky took a deep breath as his eyes wandered from where Clint was helping Natasha zip up her dress, to Steve. He looked so handsome with his slicked back hair and leather jacket. It was weird to see his boyfriend in a leather jacket that he wasn’t swimming in. Usually it was Bucky’s jacket he was wearing. Not a custom tailored one to fit just right. But he looked hot either way, he couldn’t deny that.

He had seen Steve act like a stereotypical ‘bad boy’ for the first time in rehearsals and he think it did something to him. But he’d never tell Stevie that. He still thought that the idea that Steve had to lie on some bleachers and look up a girl’s skirt before ‘Summer Nights’ was the best thing ever. When he had first remembered that he would have to do that, he had gone red and laughed nervously. But it seems that he’d had done it so many times over rehearsal that it just didn’t bother him anymore. Which was probably a good thing.

Steve caught Bucky’s eye and began walking towards him. Steve nearly died when he saw Bucky in his costume the first time. He had tied his hair up into a bun too. Steve had remembered thinking how lucky he was to be dating a guy that looked like that. But he’d never tell Bucky that.

“Hey Buck, how are you holding up?”, Steve asked as he stopped in front of his boyfriend. Bucky smiled down at him and wrapped his arms around Steve in a tight hug.

“Good. A little nervous that I’m going to mess something up. But other than that, I’m good”. That made Steve hug him tighter. He’d never heard Bucky say that he was nervous before and the idea almost scared him. But Bucky looked fine so he was just going to have to trust that he was.

The quiet conversations between the students seized when Tony and Bruce walked backstage. “Five minutes till the show starts guys!”, Tony yelled before disappearing around a corner. Steve looked back to Bucky and smiled. If his boyfriend was feeling nervous then the least he could do was give out some infectious positive energy. “I love you, James. Good luck”. Bucky bent down, pressing a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “Good luck, Stevie”.

***

Peter checked over his costume in the mirror one more time, straightening the collar of his jacket and combing stray strands of hair back into place. He wanted to look his best for the first show. He’d already imagined what the opening night would be like a hundred times over, but he never anticipated that it would be this hectic. Aunt May had sat him down on the living room couch this morning to give him a much needed pep talk before going to school. His Aunt had given him lots of pep talks over the years, but he thought that this one might have been the best one yet (and the one that actually worked). Had Peter been left to deal with the nerves on his own, he wouldn’t have been able to quell them. However, listening to Aunt May seemed to have worked. Peter hadn’t felt nervous at all when coming into school, just excited.

Peter had decided after a final look in the mirror, to busy himself with talking to Shuri, who was in the middle of checking over the sound system one last time. It didn’t take long for her to notice his presence, turning around to face him, a bright smile on her face.

“Wow, you’re really taking this seriously, aren’t you? Not a hair out of place”, Shuri laughed. Peter looked at his friend, raising an eyebrow.

“What? You thought I wouldn’t put effort into my appearance tonight? I’m hurt, Shuri”, he teased, putting a hand over his heart in mock hurt. It took all of two seconds for the pair to burst into laughter. It had always been difficult for them to have a conversation and not laugh somewhere in between. It was refreshing, Peter thought, to have a friend he was guaranteed to laugh with.

“Hey, Shuri?” Peter waited for his friend to acknowledge that he’d called he before continuing. “Do you have any idea where MJ is? I haven’t seen her today”. Shuri looked around for a second before pointing to where several of the students were getting their make-up done. Peter followed her gaze to where MJ sat, a girl he didn’t recognise applying a pink blush to her cheeks.

“Five minutes, guys!”, he heard Tony yell. Taking in a deep breath, he stepped away from Shuri to get ready, hearing a rather loud ‘good luck’ from behind him. Maybe he could squeeze a conversation in with MJ before he was needed.

***

“We don’t have a lot of time, Pietro. Stop messing around”. Wanda smacked her brother on the arm, silently asking him to stop posing in front of one of the mirrors. His costume was perfect and he knew it, but if Pietro had any opportunity to stare at himself in a mirror for longer than was ever necessary, he would take it.

“I know, I know. Calm down, Wanda. I’m aware that there can only be one self-centred asshole backstage at any given time so when Stark decides to show his face, I’ll stop”. Pietro flashed a smile at his sister. Wanda couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Alright. But I’m holding you to that”.

“Are you excited for this?”, Pietro asked.

“Yes. But perhaps not as much as you are”, Wanda replied. And she was right. Pietro was nearly vibrating with excitement.

Bruce appeared from behind some speakers. Wanda could tell he was nervous but decided not to ask about it.

“Show starts in five minutes”, Bruce said before quickly walking to meet up with Tony and Shuri. Pietro tapped his sister on the shoulder, seeking the attention he was so desperately missing for the last few seconds. When Wanda didn’t acknowledge him, he opted for calling her instead.

Wanda turned to her brother, annoyed.

“What is it? We need to go”

“Love you”, Pietro sing-songed. Wanda smiled, shaking her head.

“Yeah. Love you too”.

***

Darcy looked down at her Pink Ladies jacket, smiling. Jane could tell that she was giddy. Either that or she was going to say something stupid that would require at least five to ten minutes of discussion before Jane would be able to figure out why she had said it.

“I kinda feel like the Pink Panther in this jacket, don’t you?”.

There it is. The first stupid comment of the day. And it was going to be a long one if Darcy kept this up. Jane just stood there staring at her friend. How the fuck does she come up with these things?

“No. can’t say that I do. Why would you want to be the Pink Panther anyway”, Jane looked toward Darcy, hoping for a simple answer.

“What do you mean why? It’s the Pink Panther. I’d look cool, I’d have a tail and… I’d have my own TV show. I’d love to be the Pink Panther! A Pink Panther with a taser but the Pink Panther, nonetheless”. Darcy smiled at Jane, wanting her friend to agree with her.

“Okay…”. Jane was beginning to wonder why she became friends with Darcy in the first place.

“Five minutes”

“Shit! C’mon Darcy, time to go”. Jane grabbed Darcy’s wrist, pulling her from the chest she was sitting on. There was no chickening out now.

***

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. How had he gotten himself into this mess again? Ah, yes. It was because he brother didn’t know that his hair could get caught in the zipper of his T-Birds jacket. So now here he was, trying in vain to untangle Thor’s hair from the zipper. Which was incredibly hard to do when every few seconds there would cries of pain right in his ear. This was stupid. There was no possible way he could do this any longer.

“Can somebody get help! My simpleton of a brother got his hair stuck in the goddamned zipper”, Loki yelled in the general direction of the other students. Surely there had to be someone who would relive him of his idiotic brother. Loki waited a minute or two before deciding that help wasn’t coming and that he was just going to have to do it himself. Loki sighed.

“One”

“Two”

“Three!”. Loki tugged harshly on the strands of hair caught in the zipper, causing Thor to let out a scream that could only be described as glass-shattering. Why must it always be him to deal with his brother’s stupidity.

“Be ready in five minutes”, he heard Tony Stark yell. Good. His brother would be gone in five minutes.

“Thank you, brother”, Thor said.

“Don’t mention it”

***

“There!”, Clint shouted triumphantly, finally pulling the zipper of Natasha’s dress all the way up after it being stuck for what felt like hours. Natasha turned to face him, pressing her lips to his cheek.

“Thanks”. Their relationship wasn’t exactly secret anymore, but that didn’t matter. He liked being able to kiss Natasha when they met up for lunch or grab her hand as they walked home together.

Since the first costume rehearsal, they had all been eating lunch together. Well, maybe all except Tony and Bruce who were either somewhere fucking or doing some kind of sciencey shit that Clint couldn’t care less about. He actually had a decent group of friends for once in his life. Though, as long as Nat was there, he didn’t care how many friends he had.

“Is there anything I can help you with now or are all set?”, Natasha asked him. He shook his head.

“No, I’m good”. Clint looked down at his all-white outfit. Ah, the joys of being Teen Angel. As long as he didn’t stain it, he’d be okay.

A few minutes later, Tony came backstage to tell them that they had five minutes to sort their shit out. Clint kissed Natasha on the lips, wishing her good luck. This was either going to go well or someone was going to fuck up. Oh well, he couldn’t go back now.

***

The show had gone better than anyone could have predicted. There were no fuck ups for once. Bucky, Steve, Clint, Natasha, Peter, MJ, Peggy, Pietro, Wanda, Thor, Jane, and Darcy were all backstage, smiles on their faces. They all seemed happy with how the performance had gone. But unfortunately that’s not what mattered. They’d have to pass the test from Mister Perfectionist. Not good.

Once the audience had finally left the building, Tony came backstage, Shuri and Bruce talking quietly behind him. To everyone’s surprise, he was actually smiling.

“I want to congratulate everyone on your first show. I hope your all proud of yourselves. The songs are going to be stuck in my head for about a year but it was worth it”, Tony said, earning a laugh from the other students.

It definitely didn’t go to plan at the start of rehearsals or even towards the end, but somehow they did it. And they’d have to do it again for the next few shows. They knew they’d do it, too. Everyone would try their best not to mess up. It wasn’t even for themselves anymore, it was for each other. And they would do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking FINALLY! I did it. I got it done.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this story.
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated.


End file.
